Right Sides Who Rocked the State Championships

Rachel Kass November 9, 2018 @ 03:50 PM

When I went up to the Resch Center for Championship Saturday during the state tournament, I expected some great volleyball. What I didn’t expect is the huge role right sides consistently had on their teams throughout the day. I love how many right sides represented! When I played, I always had strong right sides, but sometimes it seems that they just didn’t get the credit they deserved. Well, these players showed up and proved why the right side is one of the most valuable positions in volleyball. Grace Peyron - Burlington - Class of 2019 In the state championship match, Grace had 13 kills and 9 blocks. Five of the blocks were within the first 10 points of the match. She clocked 180 kills during her high school career in addition to 36 solo blocks and 29 block assists. Grace’s energy and momentum changing kills and blocks gave Burlington an amazing leg up during this match. Tessa Christopherson - Oconomowoc - Class of 2019 Tessa in one word is powerful. Her swings could power through the strongest blocks, she exploded up into her own blocks. She has clocked in almost 400 kills and had 99 blocks during her 3-year varsity career. Though she wasn’t the stats leader for Oconomowoc during the match, she definitely made a big impact at key moments. Katie Winkler - East Troy - Class of 2021 - Prep Dig Rank #11 Katie was one of the main leaders and backbone of this East Troy team. She was unanimously voted to First Team All-State for the 2018 season, an amazing accomplishment within an accomplishment. She played all 6 rotations for East Troy and raked in 20 kills with a 0.500 hitting percentage. In her two years on varsity, she already has 600 kills, 53 aces, 93 blocks, and 271 digs. Wow. Lydia Simons - Lake Country Lutheran - Class of 2020 Lydia may not bring in huge stats, but she is extremely efficient. She had the highest hitting percentage of any front row player that played in the entire DIII State Championship match. She only had 4 kills but a 0.571 hitting percentage which means that when she got the ball, she did something with it, and rarely made errors. Sometimes that efficiency can be just as valuable as someone who rakes in big statistics. In a tight 5 set championship match, Lydia’s consistency and ability to play smart with the ball was extremely valuable. These four athletes each bring something unique to the table, but one thing they all have in common is their fierce competitiveness and their desire to do well. Right side hitters had a great showing throughout the State Championships.